Religious extremism or religious movements with a cultic flavour are not new in Kenya. As far as religious extremism is concerned, Kenya’s focus has been on Islamic extremism, including what constitutes “terrorism”. Preventive measures can therefore be designed to address not just Islamist extremism but all forms of religious extremism. I would place the Shakahola cult deaths within the narrow confines of cultism and religiously inspired violent extremism. This is very close to violent extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab or Daesh who follow rigid religious value systems and beliefs.
